English - PRAVASI BHARATIYA - Overseas Indian

SPORTCOMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010What’s that? A SoleckshawPEOPLINGTHE COLOSSEUMThe CWG Organising Committee has received anoverwhelming response from aspiring volunteers,from homemakers to corporate chieftainsThere is a buzz around theimposing CommonwealthGames Organising CommitteeHeadquarters nearConnaught Place these days asscores of excited students, professionals,homemakers, ex-servicemen,teachers and people from thecorporate world flock to it to join asvolunteers for the October 3-14Games.The aspiring volunteers awaittheir turn for a one-on-one interviewfor being part of the 30,000needed for the Games, though theDid you knownumber of applicants is severaltimes that number.Sudhir Mital, the special directorgenerallooking after the Rs.180 million($4 million) image-building volunteersprogramme Delhi United,said the response was so overwhelmingthat receiving applicationsonline had to be discontinuedfor a while.“To make the programme sociallyinclusive, we have categorisedapplicants under different heads.For 5,000 volunteers in the generalcategory, our portal has received awhopping 29,000 applications, forcingus to discontinue the service,”Mital told IANS.It is amazing to find the kind ofpeople who want to be associatedwith the Games in some form orother — from specialist volunteersto generalist.“We have a number of applicantsfrom top corporate houses. Theyare willing to take off from theirwork to join the Games,” Mitalsaid.The rest of the 25,000 volunteerswill be recruited from the TourismMinistry, Delhi University, NationalCadet Corps, National ServiceScheme, and sports and physicaltraining institutes.“The volunteers will be the mostvisible face of the Games. From themoment a visitor lands at the airporttill the time he leaves, he willbe interacting with volunteers themost. Therefore, the volunteers programmeis a key component in theGames framework,” Mitalsaid.— Azera Rahmann The logo of the Commonwealth Games is inspired by the Ashok Chakra. Spiralling upwards,it depicts the growth and development of India.n It has a distinctive colour scheme in which green signifies life and energy, purple adds ahint of mystery and excitement, while pink adds an element of surprise and luxury to the Gameslook, reflecting the resplendent glory of India.Here come the ‘Soleckshaws’.Thousands ofathletes and officials takingpart in the CommonwealthGames here this year willget to travel in solar rickshaws —a zero carbon vehicle.“We are introducing a fleet of1,000 Soleckshaws (the name ofsolar rickshaws) for the CommonwealthGames players,” RajeshKumar, a senior scientist at theCouncil of Scientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR), told IANS.“These Soleckshaws are thegreenest transport vehicles. Theywill also help the cause of the GreenGames as promised by the Delhigovernment,” said the scientist,who has been coordinating with thestate government for this project.Over 7,000 players and delegatesfrom over 70 countries will reachDelhi to be a part of the CommonwealthGames from October 3-14 inthe national capital.It was developed by the DurgapurbasedCentral Mechanical EngineeringResearch Institute, one ofthe 30-odd laboratories of CSIR, theapex science research body in thecountry.The technology has been transferredto three companies — oneeach in Faridabad, Hyderabad andKolkata.“These zero carbon vehicles willferry players inside the Games villagesand help them reach sportingvenues from Metro stations,”Kumar explained.He said this effort would give specialstatus to the country for its aimof reducing carbon intensity evenduring a mega sporting event andpopularise the vehicle among themasses, who may adopt it quicklyin several cities.Soleckshaws are optimallydesigned, pedal operated, motorassisted green pedicabs which drawtheir power from overhead solarpanels.The solar panels absorb energyfrom sun, which powers the pedaldrivenvehicle. Kumar said introducingthese rickshaws will heraldA soleckshaw powered by solar panelsIndia's effort in providing a life ofdignity to people.“It will enhance the dignity ofhuman labour by diminishingdrudgery and exhaustion involvedin pulling traditional rickshaws.This will put India in a better lightamong the global community. It’s amodel for sustainable development,”he said.The scientist said use during theGames would help the acceptancelevel of the vehicle and increaseself-employment at the grassroots.The solar rickshaw would not useany fossil fuel and hence there wasno question of polluting the environment.He said the solar rickshaws wouldbe supplied by three companies.“We will have full support forthis. It will support the GreenGames concept as well as make ourproduct a marketable one later,”said Anil Sahoo, manager of theHyderabad Battery Limited, one ofthe three companies, which are convertingCSIR lab rickshaws tomarketable ones.The GreenCodeThe Gameshas instituteda CommonwealthGames DelhiA CNGbus in Delhi2010 EcologicalCode that outlines ways of cuttingdown on carbon emissions duringthe mega sporting event, layingstress on clean fuel, water conservationand waste management.The ecological code will also assessthe impact of the Games on land,energy, water, air and carbon whiledelineating its environmentalvision. The code emphasises extensiveafforestation, energy conservation,reduction in water consumption,encouraging wastewatertreatment, encouraging theuse of clean fuel such as CNG inbuses and creating awarenessamong Delhiites about preservationof biodiversity.32 Pravasi Bharatiya March 2010Pravasi Bharatiya March 2010 33